Making subscriber data addressable as a device in a mobile data network

ABSTRACT

A mobile data network supports making subscriber data addressable as devices in a mobile data network. Each data chunk is assigned a device address in the mobile data network. The data chunk can then be addresses as a device in the mobile data network. A first implementation allows accessing data in existing mobile data networks by sending a text message to the device address of the data chunk. When the data chunk receives a text message, it responds with one or more text messages that deliver the data in the data chunk to the sender who sent the text message. A second implementation includes a subscriber data mechanism in the mobile data network that supports tracking, transfer and management of subscriber data in the mobile data network. Making subscriber data addressable as a device simplifies data-centric communication in a mobile data network.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure generally relates to mobile data networks, and morespecifically relates to making subscriber data accessible in a mobiledata network.

2. Background Art

Mobile phones have evolved into “smart phones” that allow a subscribernot only to make a call, but also to access data, such as e-mails, theinternet, etc. Mobile phone networks have evolved as well to provide thedata services that new mobile devices require. For example, 3G and 4Gnetworks cover most of the United States, and allow subscribershigh-speed wireless data access on their mobile devices. In addition,phones are not the only devices that can access mobile data networks.Many mobile phone companies provide equipment and services that allow asubscriber to plug a mobile access card into a Universal Serial Bus(USB) port on a laptop computer, and provide wireless internet to thelaptop computer through the mobile data network. In addition, some newermobile phones allow the mobile phone to function as a wireless hotspot,which supports connecting several laptop computers or other wirelessdevices to the mobile phone, which in turn provides data services viathe mobile data network. As time marches on, the amount of data servedon mobile data networks will continue to rise exponentially.

Most data transfers in a mobile data network are initiated by asubscriber. One way for a subscriber to initiate a data transfer is tosend an e-mail, or to invoke a web page. There have been some attemptsat making data transfers across mobile devices data-centric. One form ofdata-centric communication uses a publish-subscribe model, which allowssubscribers to sign up for data. When a data source publishes data, thedata is sent to all subscribers who have signed up for the data. Theadvantage of this type of data-centric communication is the data can beexchanged without the publisher knowing anything about the subscribers(other than where to deliver the data) and without the subscribersknowing anything about the publisher (other than how to sign up for thedata). Instead both publishers and subscribers focus on what the data isas inscribed in the definition of the data.

Internet-based services have arisen that allow a user to store a largeamount of the user's data in the cloud. Cloud-based services takeadvantage of storage and processing capacity that is both readilyavailable and easily expandable in the cloud. While these Internet-basedservices can be used by subscribers of a mobile data network, theseservices are cloud-based and are not provided within a mobile datanetwork. Thus, the problem of storing subscriber data in a mobile datanetwork remains largely unsolved. Data-centric communication in mobiledata networks has not caught on due to the lack of known mapping betweensubscribers and data, due to a lack of scalable storage capabilityacross the mobile data network, and due to the lack of service withcontinuous infrastructure connectivity. While known mobile data networkscan be used as a conduit for accessing cloud-based storage forsubscribers, known mobile data networks do not offer support for storingsubscriber data in the mobile data network.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A mobile data network supports making subscriber data addressable asdevices in a mobile data network. Each data chunk is assigned a deviceaddress in the mobile data network. The data chunk can then be addressedas a device in the mobile data network. A first implementation allowsaccessing data in existing mobile data networks by sending a textmessage to the device address of the data chunk. When the data chunkreceives a text message, it responds with one or more text messages thatdeliver the data in the data chunk to the sender who sent the textmessage. A second implementation includes a subscriber data mechanism inthe mobile data network that supports tracking, transfer and managementof subscriber data in the mobile data network. Making subscriber dataaddressable as a device simplifies data-centric communication in amobile data network.

The disclosure and claims herein support a method for accessingsubscriber data in a mobile data network, the method comprising:providing a data chunk corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; adata portion corresponding to the subscriber data for the subscriber;sending by a physical device a request to the device address of the datachunk; in response to receiving the request from the physical device,sending the data portion to the physical device. Making the data chunkaddressable as a physical device allows easily accessing the data in thedata chunk.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a method for accessingsubscriber data in a mobile data network, the method comprising:providing a data chunk corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; adata portion corresponding to the subscriber data for the subscriber;sending by a physical device a request to the device address of the datachunk; in response to receiving the request from the physical device,sending the data portion to the physical device; providing a subscriberdatabase that includes information relating to physical devices used bythe subscriber to access the mobile data network; and writing to anentry in the subscriber database corresponding to the subscriber thedevice address of the data chunk as one of the physical devices used bythe subscriber. Making the data chunk addressable as a physical device,then registering the data chunk as a device by writing to an entry inthe subscriber database allows the subscriber database to identify datachunks owned by a subscriber.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a method for accessingsubscriber data in a mobile data network, the method comprising:providing a data chunk corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; and adata portion corresponding to the subscriber data for the subscriber;providing a subscriber database that includes an entry for thesubscriber that includes information relating to physical devices usedby the subscriber to access the mobile data network; determining anunused device address for the subscriber from the subscriber database;writing the unused device address to the device address of the datachunk; and writing to an entry in the subscriber database correspondingto the subscriber the device address of the data chunk as one of thephysical devices used by the subscriber. Making the data chunkaddressable as a physical device, then registering the data chunk as adevice by writing to an entry in the subscriber database allows thesubscriber database to identify data chunks owned by a subscriber.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a method for accessingsubscriber data in a mobile data network, the method comprising:providing a data chunk corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; and adata portion corresponding to the subscriber data for the subscriber;providing a subscriber database that includes an entry for thesubscriber that includes information relating to physical devices usedby the subscriber to access the mobile data network; determining anunused device address for the subscriber from the subscriber database;writing the unused device address to the device address of the datachunk; and writing to an entry in the subscriber database correspondingto the subscriber the device address of the data chunk as one of thephysical devices used by the subscriber; sending by a physical device arequest to the data chunk using the device address of the data chunk;and in response to receiving the request from the physical device, thedata chunk sending the data portion to the physical device. Making thedata chunk addressable as a physical device allows requesting the datain the data chunk using the device address.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a method for accessingsubscriber data in a mobile data network, the method comprising:providing a data chunk corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; adata portion corresponding to the subscriber data for the subscriber; acommunication mechanism that includes a communication interface forreceiving requests for the data portion using the device address; and astatus that comprises: a key; a description of the data chunk; owner ofthe data chunk; users who requested the data chunk; and a time to livefor the data chunk; providing a subscriber database that includes anentry for the subscriber that includes information relating to physicaldevices used by the subscriber to access the mobile data network;determining an unused device address for the subscriber from thesubscriber database; writing the unused device address to the deviceaddress of the data chunk; writing to an entry in the subscriberdatabase corresponding to the subscriber the device address of the datachunk as one of the physical devices used by the subscriber; sending bya physical device a request to the communication interface of the datachunk by sending the request to the device address of the data chunk; inresponse to receiving the request from the physical device on thecommunication interface, the data chunk sending the data portion to thephysical device via the communication interface. Making the data chunkaddressable as a physical device, then registering the data chunk as adevice by writing to an entry in the subscriber database allows thesubscriber database to identify data chunks owned by a subscriber, andmaking the data chunk addressable as a device allows requesting the datain the data chunk using the device address.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a mobile data networkcomprising: an antenna that communicates with user equipment; at leastone basestation coupled to the antenna that communicates with the userequipment via the antenna; a data chunk residing in the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; adata portion corresponding to subscriber data for a subscriber; anetwork component coupled to the basestation, the network componentcomprising a subscriber database that includes information relating tophysical devices used by the subscriber to access the mobile datanetwork, wherein the information relating to physical devices used bythe subscriber comprises the device address of the data chunk. Makingthe data chunk addressable as a physical device, then registering thedata chunk as a device by writing to an entry in the subscriber databaseallows the subscriber database to identify data chunks owned by asubscriber.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a mobile data networkcomprising: an antenna that communicates with user equipment; at leastone basestation coupled to the antenna that communicates with the userequipment via the antenna; a data chunk residing in the mobile datanetwork, the data chunk comprising: a device address that makes the datachunk addressable as a physical device in the mobile data network; adata portion corresponding to subscriber data for a subscriber; and acommunication mechanism with a communication interface for receiving arequest and communication logic that determines how the data portion isdelivered when the request is received on the communication interface; afirst network component coupled to the basestation, the first networkcomponent comprising a subscriber database that includes informationrelating to physical devices used by the subscriber to access the mobiledata network, wherein the information relating to physical devices usedby the subscriber comprises the device address of the data chunk; asecond network component coupled to the basestation, the second networkcomponent comprising a subscriber data mechanism that performs tracking,transfer and management of the data chunk; and a third network componentcoupled to the basestation, the third network component comprisingnetwork storage that stores the data chunk. The mobile data network thusallows registering subscriber data to a subscriber, accessing thesubscriber data as a device in the mobile data network, and performingtracking, transfer and management of the data chunk.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent fromthe following more particular description, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data chunk that is addressable as adevice in a mobile data network;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for making a data chunk addressableas a device in a mobile data network;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a prior art mobile data network;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing information that is included in prior artHome Location Register (HLR) entries;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing configuration for a known MSISDN;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a known MSISDN can have multiplesub-addresses;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for making a data chunk addressableas a device in a known mobile data network;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for receiving data from a datachunk that is addressable as a device in a mobile data network;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a method for receiving data from a datachunk that is addressable as a device in a prior art mobile datanetwork;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a mobile data network that includes asubscriber data mechanism that tracks, transfers and manages subscriberdata in a mobile data network that is addressable as a device;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a method for the subscriber data mechanismin FIG. 10 to make a data chunk addressable as a device in the mobiledata network;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a method for a device in a mobile datanetwork to request data that is addressable as a device;

FIG. 13 is a diagram that shows examples of data that could be stored inthe data chunk status field in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 14 is a table showing one suitable way for the subscriber datatracking mechanism in FIG. 10 to keep track of subscriber data in amobile data network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above in the Background of the Invention section, whileknown mobile data networks can be used as a conduit for accessingcloud-based storage for subscribers, known mobile data networks do notoffer support for storing subscriber data in the mobile data network.The mobile data network disclosed and claimed herein allows storingsubscriber data in a mobile data network. A first implementationprovides the advantage of storing subscriber data in a mobile datanetwork using existing network infrastructure by making data chunksaddressable as devices. A second implementation provides the advantageof enhanced functions by including new features in one or more networkcomponents in a mobile data network that support data chunks that can beaddressed as devices.

A mobile data network supports making subscriber data addressable asdevices in a mobile data network. Each data chunk is assigned a deviceaddress in the mobile data network. The data chunk can then be addressesas a device in the mobile data network. A first implementation allowsaccessing data in existing mobile data networks by sending a textmessage to the device address of the data chunk. When the data chunkreceives a text message, it responds with one or more text messages thatdeliver the data in the data chunk to the sender who sent the textmessage. A second implementation includes a subscriber data mechanism inthe mobile data network that supports tracking, transfer and managementof subscriber data in the mobile data network. Making subscriber dataaddressable as a device simplifies data-centric communication in amobile data network.

Referring to FIG. 1, a data chunk 110 represents any data that couldexist in a mobile data network. Data chunk 110 is a data structure andincludes no hardware. In one particular case, data chunk 110 representsdata corresponding to a subscriber of the mobile data network. The datachunk 110 includes a device address 120 that makes the data chunkaddressable as a device in the mobile data network. The data chunk mayadditionally include a status 130 that may include one or more pieces ofinformation related to the status of the data chunk, as discussed inmore detail below with reference to FIG. 13. Data chunk 110 alsoincludes a communication mechanism 140. The communication mechanism 140includes a communication interface 150 and communication logic 160. Thecommunication interface 150 is used by a device in the mobile datanetwork to request the data stored in the data chunk 110 using thedevice address 120. The communication logic 160 determines when and howthe data chunk 110 delivers its data when a request for the data isreceived on the communication interface 150. The data portion 170 issubscriber data stored in the data chunk. When a device in the mobiledata network needs to access the data portion 170 in data chunk 110, itsends a request to the communication interface 150 by using the deviceaddress 120, and in response, the data chunk 110 delivers the dataportion 170 via the communication interface 150 according to thecommunication logic 160.

FIG. 2 shows a method 200 for making a data chunk for a subscriberaddressable in a known mobile data network, such as a 3G or 4G network.A device address corresponding to the subscriber is written as thedevice address of the data chunk (step 210). The device address of thedata chunk is then written to the Home Location Register (HLR) entry forthe subscriber (step 220). The HLR is well-known in 3G and 4G networks.By strategically using device addresses compatible with existing 3G and4G networks, and recording the data chunk as a subscriber device in theHLR, a first implementation can use existing infrastructure in anexisting 3G or 4G mobile data network to make the data chunk addressableas a device so the data can be retrieved when needed by a device in themobile data network.

A prior art mobile data network 300 is shown in FIG. 3. User equipment310, such as a smart phone, communicates with a tower 320, whichcommunicates with a basestation 330. User equipment 310 can include anysuitable device capable of communicating with tower 320. The basestation330 is coupled to one or more components in the mobile data network. Forthe sake of illustration and simplicity, the portion of the network thatcommunicates with the basestation 330 is shown in FIG. 3 as network 340,and can include any suitable number and type of components that exist inprior art mobile data networks. The network 340 includes a Home LocationRegister 350 and a Visitor Location Register 360. The Home LocationRegister 350 contains information regarding subscribers. The VisitorLocation Register 360 contains information retrieved from a subscriber'sHome Location Register 350 when the subscriber is outside his or herhome network. The function of known Home Location Registers and VisitorLocation Registers is well-known in the art, and therefore is notdiscussed in detail here.

Details of information that is stored in a Home Location Register (HLR)350 are shown in FIG. 4. An entry 410 in the HLR for a subscriber caninclude a Subscriber ID, Location, Services, Settings and Otherinformation, as shown in FIG. 4. The Subscriber ID typically includes anInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and one or more MobileStation International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDNs). The IMSI istypically used as a key in the HLR while the MSISDN is the numbernormally dialed to connect a call to a mobile phone. An IMSI for adevice does not change, while there may be multiple MSISDNs associatedwith an IMSI.

As shown in FIG. 5, an MSISDN typically includes a Country Code, aNational Destination Code, and a Subscriber Number. A feature of knownMSISDNs that allows implementing data chunks addressable as devices isthat an MSISDN may have a sub-address, as shown in FIG. 6. A sub-addresscan be up to twenty octets. This allows sub-addresses of an MSISDN to beused to address the subscriber's data chunks. Thus, if a subscriber hasa smart phone and also has a tablet computer that both use the samesubscription to the mobile data network, the sub-address could be usedto differentiate between these two physical devices. By making dataaddressable as a device, the known methods for storing deviceinformation for a subscriber may be used to store information for datachunks for the subscriber.

Referring to FIG. 7, a method 700 is preferably performed to make a datachunk for a subscriber addressable as a device in a mobile data network.The HLR entry for the subscriber is read (step 710). The next unusedMSISDN sub-address for the subscriber is determined (step 720). ThisMSISDN with the next unused sub-address is then written as the deviceaddress for the data chunk (step 730). Referring again to FIG. 1, step730 in FIG. 7 writes the MSISDN with the next unused sub-address to thedevice address 120 for data chunk 110. The MSISDN with the next unusedsub-address that was written to the data chunk is then written to thesubscriber's entry in the HLR (step 740). Writing the MSISDN andsub-address to the subscriber's entry in the HLR in step 740 effectivelyregisters the data chunk as belonging to the subscriber, along with thedevice address needed to access the data chunk. While steps 720, 730 and740 refer to the next unused MSISDN sub-address for the subscriber, anyunused MSISDN sub-address could be used.

FIG. 8 shows a method 800 for retrieving data from a data chunk that isaddressable as a device. The data is requested from the data chunk usingthe device address of the data chunk (step 810). In response, the datachunk sends the data to the requester (step 820). There are numerousways to implement method 800 in a mobile data network.

One possible implementation for method 800 in FIG. 8 for an existingmobile data network, such as a 3G or 4G network, is shown as method 900in FIG. 9. The requesting device sends a text message to the datachunk's device address (step 910). In response to the text message, thedata chunk sends its data to the requesting device via one or more textmessages (step 920). In one particular implementation, the data could bedivided up into multiple chunks that can then be sent via sequentialtext messages, which could then be reassembled into the larger dataportion by the device receiving the text messages. However, chopping thedata into multiple portions that can be sent via text is not the onlyway to retrieve the data. With the ability to text photographs and otherlarge files as attachments to a text message, the data chunk couldsimply send a text message with an attachment that includes the entiredata portion of the data chunk. By making a data chunk addressable as adevice, then sending a text message to the device to retrieve the data,the data chunks addressable as a device can be implemented withinexisting infrastructure in a mobile data network without any changes tohardware or software in the mobile data network.

Using existing support for text messages in an existing mobile datanetwork is a low-cost method of implementing the data chunks that areaddressable as devices, but may not provide the desired function orperformance. As a result, an alternative implementation of a mobile datanetwork 1000 shown in FIG. 10 supports data chunks that are addressableas devices. The user equipment 1010 preferably includes an app 1012 thatallows communicating between the user equipment 1010 and thesubscriber's data chunks that are addressable as devices. The userequipment 1010 communicates with a tower 320, which communicates with abasestation 330, which communicates with one or more network components1020. Note that 1020 in FIG. 10 represents one or multiple networkcomponents. Thus, the features shown as part of the network components1020 in FIG. 10 could exist in different components in the mobile datanetwork 1000. For example, the subscriber database 1030 could exist in afirst network component, the subscriber data mechanism 1040 could existin a second network component, and the network storage 1080 could existin a third network component. FIG. 10 is simplified to show differentfunctions that could be implemented in different network components in amobile data network.

The subscriber database 1030 resides in one of the network components1020. The subscriber database 1030 includes subscriber information 1032that specifies which physical devices 1034 are registered to asubscriber. Because the data chunk disclosed herein includes a deviceaddress, the physical devices 1034 preferably specify addresses ofactual physical devices and additionally specify device addresses ofdata chunks owned by the subscriber that are addressable as devices.

A subscriber data mechanism 1040 resides in one of the networkcomponents 1020. Subscriber data mechanism 1040 preferably includes asubscriber data tracking mechanism 1050, a subscriber data transfermechanism 1060, and a subscriber data management mechanism 1070. Thesubscriber data tracking mechanism 1050 tracks where subscriber datachunks are stored. The subscriber data transfer mechanism 1060 transfersdata in the mobile data network when needed. The subscriber datamanagement mechanism 1070 manages subscriber data in the mobile datanetwork. Network storage 1080 also resides in one of the networkcomponents 1020. Network storage 1080 may include one or more datachunks 110.

Referring to FIG. 11, a method 1100 determines an unused device addressfor a subscriber (step 1110). The unused device address is written asthe device address for a data chunk (step 1120). The device address forthe data chunk is then written to the data tracking mechanism (step1130), such as data tracking mechanism 1050 shown in FIG. 10. Method1100 illustrates the steps in assigning a device address to a data chunkand registering the device address of the data chunk with the datatracking mechanism, which can then keep track of the data chunk. Becausethe data chunk is addressable as a device, the network infrastructure inthe mobile data network that allows registering devices to a subscriberwill inherently support registering data chunks to a subscriber.

A method 1200 in FIG. 12 illustrates how data is retrieved from a datachunk. A requesting device sends a request for data to the data chunk'sdevice address (step 1210). In response to the request in step 1210, thedata chunk sends its data portion to the requesting device (step 1220).

Referring to FIG. 13, data chunk status 130 from FIG. 1 is shown toinclude several fields, which may include a key, a description, anowner, whether the data chunk is copied or not, users who requested thedata chunk, and a time to live (TTL). Of course, other fields not shownin FIG. 13 could be included in the data chunk status 130. The “key”field provides a unique identifier that supports querying the data chunkstatus 130. The “Description” field includes a description of the data.Note the description could include multiple fields. One descriptionfield could indicate type of data stored, such as text, e-mail, audio,video, graphic, application, etc. Another description field couldindicate the relationship of the data chunk to a larger whole. Forexample, a description field could indicate that the data chunk is thesixth chunk of nine data chunks of audio data that make up a song.Another description field could indicate a title for the data chunk,such as the title of the song of which the data chunk is part. Anotherdescription field could indicate whether the data portion of the chunkis encrypted or not. Another description field could include validationvalues, such as checksums, that may be used for data transferverification.

The “Owner” field specifies the subscriber or user that owns the datachunk. Note the owner of the data chunk need not necessarily be asubscriber to the mobile data network. For example, the mobile datanetwork may have an agreement with a competitor network that allows thesubscribers in the competitor network to store data chunks in the mobiledata network. In this case, the owner could be a user of thecompetitor's network that is not a subscriber of the mobile datanetwork. Specifying the owner of the data allows the data chunk to bemore effectively managed.

The “Copied” field indicates whether the data is original or whether itwas copied. Copied data is sometimes referred to as “forked data”because it exists in two places at once. An example of copied data is aweb page downloaded from a web site. The data at the original website isnot altered, and any data downloaded from a web site is necessarily acopy of the web page information residing on the server of the web pageinformation. Knowing whether a data chunk is original or copied allowsthe data chunk to be more effectively managed.

The “Requested By” field indicates subscribers or users who haverequested the data chunk. The “TTL” field can be used to indicate a timeto live for the data chunk, such as an expiration date and time, anumber of uses, or any other suitable way to specify when the data chunkshould be retained or when the data chunk can be deleted, including anyspecific threshold, criteria, algorithm or heuristic.

A simple example will illustrate. Let's assume the data chunk is part ofa web page that has been proactively downloaded to the mobile datanetwork in anticipation of the user needing the information. Forexample, let's assume the user accesses the cnn.com website each morningaround 7:00 AM, and is finished reading the news by 7:30 AM. Thesubscriber data management mechanism 1070 in FIG. 10 could proactivelydownload the home page from cnn.com at 6:45 AM each morning so theinformation is readily available to the subscriber. Let's assume thehome page is contained in a single data chunk. The data chunk status 130shown in FIG. 13 for this example would include a key, a description ofthe date (web page at cnn.com), the owner of the data (subscriber X),that the data is copied data, that the data was requested by subscriberX, and has a TTL of 7:45 AM so the web page can be discarded after thenormal time when the subscriber will no longer need it. In anotherexample, a subscriber's data chunk may be made available to othersubscribers or users. In this case, the TTL could be dynamically setaccording to the way the data is accessed. For example, if a data chunkthat includes news is requested by other users, the TTL value could beincreased, and the TTL could then decrease once there are no moreaccesses to the data chunk. This scenario dynamically adjusts the TTLfor a data chunk to account for how the data chunk is accessed. Once thedata chunk is no longer needed, the TTL will decrease to zero, and thedata chunk could then be discarded.

The subscriber data tracking mechanism 1060 in FIG. 10 preferably keepstrack of subscriber data. One suitable way for the subscriber datatracking mechanism 1060 to track subscriber data uses a subscriber datatracking table 1400 shown in FIG. 14. The tracking table 1400 includesmultiple entries that each specifies owner, package, sub-package, andlocation as shown in FIG. 14. Thus, entry 1410 specifies that subscriberA owns the data chunk, that the data chunk is sub-package 0001 ofpackage 1234, and the data is stored in location A1, which couldrepresent a location on a physical device used by subscriber A. Entry1420 specifies that subscriber A owns the data chunk, that the datachunk is sub-package 0002 of package 1234, and the data is stored inlocation A2. Entry 1430 specifies that subscriber A owns the data chunk,that the data chunk is sub-package 0003 of package 1234, and the data isstored in location B1. This could mean that data chunks owned bysubscriber A could be stored on a physical device from subscriber B.Entry 1440 specifies that subscriber A owns the data chunk, that thedata chunk is sub-package 0004 of package 1234, and the data is storedin location C5. This could mean that data chunks owned by subscriber Acould be stored on a physical device from subscriber C. Thus, the firstfour entries 1410, 1420, 1430 and 1440 indicate that four chunks thatmake up package 1234 belong to subscriber A, with two of the chunksstored on physical devices belonging to A, one of the chunks stored on aphysical device belonging to subscriber B, and one of the chunks storedon a physical device belonging to subscriber C. Similarly, entries 1450and 1460 show two data chunks owned by subscriber B that are stored onB's and C's devices, and entries 1470, 1480 and 1490 show three datachunks owned by subscriber C that are stored in A's, B's and C'sdevices. The subscriber data tracking table 1400 is one suitable toolthat could be used by the subscriber data tracking mechanism 1050 inFIG. 10 for keeping track of what data is stored where.

Data chunks are data structures that do not include any hardware. Makingdata chunks addressable as devices makes the data chunks appear astraditional physical devices that include hardware. In this manner datachunks can be addressed as if they are physical devices in the mobiledata network.

A mobile data network supports making subscriber data addressable asdevices in a mobile data network. Each data chunk is assigned a deviceaddress in the mobile data network. The data chunk can then be addressesas a device in the mobile data network. A first implementation allowsaccessing data in existing mobile data networks by sending a textmessage to the device address of the data chunk. When the data chunkreceives a text message, it responds with one or more text messages thatdeliver the data in the data chunk to the sender who sent the textmessage. A second implementation includes a subscriber data mechanism inthe mobile data network that supports tracking, transfer and managementof subscriber data in the mobile data network. Making subscriber dataaddressable as a device simplifies data-centric communication in amobile data network.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possiblewithin the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure isparticularly shown and described above, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims.

1. A mobile data network comprising: an antenna that communicates withuser equipment; at least one basestation coupled to the antenna thatcommunicates with the user equipment via the antenna; a data chunkresiding in the mobile data network, the data chunk comprising: a deviceaddress that makes the data chunk addressable as a physical device inthe mobile data network; a data portion corresponding to subscriber datafor a subscriber; a network component coupled to the basestation, thenetwork component comprising a subscriber database that includesinformation relating to physical devices used by the subscriber toaccess the mobile data network, wherein the information relating tophysical devices used by the subscriber comprises the device address ofthe data chunk.
 2. The mobile data network of claim 1 wherein the datachunk further comprises a communication mechanism with a communicationinterface for receiving a request and communication logic thatdetermines how the data portion is delivered when the request isreceived on the communication interface.
 3. The mobile data network ofclaim 2 wherein, when a request is received from a first device on thecommunication interface using the device address, in response, the datachunk sends the data portion to the first device.
 4. The mobile datanetwork of claim 3 wherein the first device comprises the userequipment.
 5. The mobile data network of claim 1 further comprising asubscriber data mechanism that performs tracking, transfer andmanagement of the data chunk.
 6. The mobile data network of claim 1further comprising network storage for storing the data chunk.
 7. Amobile data network comprising: an antenna that communicates with userequipment; at least one basestation coupled to the antenna thatcommunicates with the user equipment via the antenna; a data chunkresiding in the mobile data network, the data chunk comprising: a deviceaddress that makes the data chunk addressable as a physical device inthe mobile data network; a data portion corresponding to subscriber datafor a subscriber; and a communication mechanism with a communicationinterface for receiving a request and communication logic thatdetermines how the data portion is delivered when the request isreceived on the communication interface; a first network componentcoupled to the basestation, the first network component comprising asubscriber database that includes information relating to physicaldevices used by the subscriber to access the mobile data network,wherein the information relating to physical devices used by thesubscriber comprises the device address of the data chunk; a secondnetwork component coupled to the basestation, the second networkcomponent comprising a subscriber data mechanism that performs tracking,transfer and management of the data chunk; and a third network componentcoupled to the basestation, the third network component comprisingnetwork storage that stores the data chunk.
 8. The mobile data networkof claim 7 wherein, when a request is received from a first device onthe communication interface, in response, the data chunk sends the dataportion to the first device.
 9. The mobile data network of claim 8wherein the first device comprises the user equipment.